winch needs

[rammland]

I would like to get a winch at some point, I have a 98 xj w/31 inch tires roof rack and a fair amount of junk i carry around adding that i am just a poor 22 year old. How much winch would I need and would anybody have any idea on a place to get one cheap. Anything would be a great help

[scrambled06]

It depends on what you use it for. Do you go a lot of places you get stuck? A lot of mud? An 8000 pound one should be fine if you don't plan on using it a bunch, maybe a 9500 lb for a little more security. Harbor freight has cheap ones as well as the smittybuilt xrc series. Again if you plan on using it a lot I would not get a cheap one. I have a Warn and use it a lot, in the worst possible places and it is still running strong. It really depends on your uses for it. You also need to factor in other costs two. You will need a snatch block, tree saver, something to weigh the cable down in case of failure, etc. I would also recommend a heavy duty battery to handle the winch.

[mrchips]

Recommendation is 1 1/2 times the GVWR of your rig. So a 8-9K winch would work very well. You can double the pulling power by using a snatch block if you are really stuck.
Make sure you have a good battery, and just for your own knowledge never hook a winch up to side posts of any battery. Can not pull enough amps from that connection.

[alosix]

What sort of use are you looking to get out of the vehicle and how often are you solo?

I've had my TJ for going 14 years now with a lot of wheeling over those years.

It only recently got a winch because its more likely I'll be pretty far off the beaten path solo than I would have been earlier in its life.

To me, I wouldn't worry about one for a while as long as you are traveling with another vehicle and the trails aren't all that nuts (nuts being Rubicon, Hammers, Black/Red or 'double diamond' trails depending on where you are wheeling).

Heck, I've even recovered/righted rolled Jeeps in the comp courses @ Rausch Creek with my TJ with a few tow straps. A winch would have sure been easier, but its wasn't necessary.

Jason

[kc0tma]

And one thing you have to remember with installing a winch is the hidden costs. First thing is a good bumper, which you can actually get pretty cheaply if you go with the Detours backbone system or whatever that other brand is that is in the catalogs and adapts the stock bumper. The other thing is the weight, it may not be a problem but you are going to be adding a good chunk of weight to the front of your vehicle that may cause it so droop a little bit so you may need bigger springs or some spacers or something. Winches are never as cheap as what the price tag says.

[rammland]

Thank you all, I do a lot of search and rescue and that is all mostly solo but i do think every one on here is fantastic for real world advise. I'll just stick to come-a-long and a lot of hard work for the time being

[Azlugz]

Smittybilt 8K for under $300 then add as stated for a good bumper.

I had a 1st gen SB winch on my LJ and used it a LOT to help others, never a fail, then sold it with the Jeep. THe ZJ has a 2nd gen SB 8K on it and have used it many times on recoveries and never a fail. I swear by my Smitybilts.

http://www.kreationkrawlers.com/images/Grand-Build/DSC01843-800.JPG

[Maximus Ram]

I have a Mile Marker pe8000 on the XJ and it works just fine. Pulled a suburban out of the rocks by the river here a couple of months ago...which was really over its rated pull power....Also have the MM 12000 on the Dodge.

[Hilldweller]

I second the Smittybuilt XRC8. Stumpy and I both use them with the synthetic line and they are dependable and cheap.

Remember that the 8000 pound rating is for overhead lifts as well. It's a rare stuck indeed where the good Earth isn't supporting your vehicle and lightening the load considerably....
:ylsmoke:


mine
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v352/billpearlman/014_crop-1.jpg

Stump's
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v352/billpearlman/100_4619.jpg

[Azlugz]

I second the Smittybuilt XRC8. Stumpy and I both use them with the synthetic line and they are dependable and cheap.

Remember that the 8000 pound rating is for overhead lifts as well. It's a rare stuck indeed where the good Earth isn't supporting your vehicle and lightening the load considerably....
:ylsmoke:



NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


O Heavens NO!!!! Electric recovery winches like this (smitybilt, Warn, T-Max and others)are NOT made for overhead or vertical lifts and have statements of warning to that in the manuals and the websites!!!! These style winches are designed for vehicle recovery style use only and that means dragging a vehicle out of a stuck situation. In this type of winch, only some of the hydraulic winchs are rated for vertical.

This is from a winch manufacturer.....


The difference between a winch and a hoistSo many customers have asked this question, so we thought we would post it for your convenience.
What is the difference between and WINCH and a HOIST?
A Winch is for pulling, a Hoist is for Lifting.
You could probably push or move your car, but you could never dead lift it. A Hoist is geared differently and has locking brakes to hold a load.
A Winch is for pulling a load, most of the time has dynamic brakes, but can slide.
If a Hoist can lift 250 lbs, it can likely pull 1000 lbs.
If a winch can pull 1000 lbs in can probably only lift 100 lbs.
Some winches have a "Lifting" and a "Pulling" capacity ratings. These winch/hoist products are made to your specs when you order them and designed to do duel industrial jobs.
That is why on some of our other winches you see two different sets of specs. One for the lifting capacity, and another for the pulling capacity of the product.

From Warn


LIFTING VS. PULLING
IT'S A MATTER OF SAFETY AND A LITTLE COMMON SENSE

While all of the WARN Works products in this web site are designed to pull loads, only the PullzAll is also designed to lift them. Why? Well, pulling is a horizontal task. Lifting, on the other hand, requires lifting dead weight into the air vertically. Therefore, a lifting/pulling product like PullzAll has some unique design features, such as a load limiter, and it does not utilize a freespool clutch. So before you use any WARN Works product, think about the job at hand.

[Hilldweller]

That's the biggest font I've ever gotten for a response...

What I meant, 'scuse me, is that you'll rarely ever need 8000 pounds worth of pull to get a Jeep free; most of the weight is supported by the ground.
Stumpy pulled my JK and his XJ up a very steep hill one time to get me unstuck; and my JK was sideways and about to roll. The combined weight of our rigs was well over 8K pounds.

[Mr. D]

:lurk:

[Azlugz]

Very true. I have used my 8K to pull out trucks and stuff too. You just have to be careful. 8K is fine for most Jeeps and light Toys. 9.5 to 10 is great for Land Crusiers and similar SUVs and light trucks or lighter vehicles (jeeps and Toys) that get into extreme situations. 12 to 15K for heavier trucks, old skool Hummers and the like.

Remember, if you have a a lighter winch like an 8K and need to make a heavier pull, say pulling out a medium pickup with a Jeep, you can effectively double your pull with a snatch block. BUT, be careful as you are not doubleing the capacity of the cable!!!!! If you block it, don't over pull your cable and hook.

Also keep in mind that the more cable that is on the drum, the less capacity you have. An average 8K winch with 4 layers wraped on the drum is now down to 5K capacity. Because of this, a snatch block not only helps give you more working capacity, it also gets more wraps off the drum to give you more inherant capacity. The draw back on the block is it halves the speed of you pull.




Sorry about the big type, just want to make sure people don't use it as a hoist!!!

[Jeff Dodgen]

Warn M8000....period. I have dealt first hand with a number of the Smittybuilts and wouldn't buy one. For every one I have seen last, I have seen one fail in the first six months.....literally.

[Hilldweller]

Warn M8000....period. I have dealt first hand with a number of the Smittybuilts and wouldn't buy one. For every one I have seen last, I have seen one fail in the first six months.....literally.They changed suppliers for them. Mile Marker made the ones that were prone to failure.

[Azlugz]

Warn M8000....period. I have dealt first hand with a number of the Smittybuilts and wouldn't buy one. For every one I have seen last, I have seen one fail in the first six months.....literally.

How many have you seen and what type of failures. Must not be very many becuse what stats are available show verly little failure. I know of a LOT of SB winches being used and I know of 3 fails, all three were workable and did not stop the use, just had to work at it a little and then when called, Smittybilt sent parts next day. And yes, the 1st gen units had some issues but worked, mine had a lot of puls on it and is still going.

Another difference is how the manufacturer responds. SB, like Warn, sends repair parts out imediately, no problems. They ask a bunch of questions so they know what and how and then if they have multiple fails for that, they fix it. Not like Harbor Freight winch that you can't get help, can't get parts and they don't care as long as it sells.

I know several guys that are on the Warn band wagon and that is fine but I will never understand it. The specs for the SB match the Warn, the customer service is basically the same but I have heard the SB folks are nicer on average. But the Warn runs $540 and up where the SB runs $280-$299. Everything in the Warn stable is higher priced because of the name and I am just not willing to pay for that name. The SB has proven it self to be just as good but less expensive, I choose to save the money, quality is not in the name, its in the material and workmanship.

That said I think before people take the word of others on a product, they need to do some real research and, if possible, get some hands on. I rarley take the word of someone who has never had a product but has seen "others" fail. I find that when you get right down to the details, most of those come out that the person never "saw" the fail, only heard about from someone else that heard about it....... Anywone wont to have hands on can use my winch too. I bought one of the first SM SRC8's to hit this area as a test case because people were asking me about them. Glen at 4 Wheel Parts of Mesa got it for me and I commenced to beat on it. I had an intermittent issue with the remote and SB sent me a new one that I got the NEXT DAY. I have had a SB winch on my jeep everysince and used it in SAR recoveries, assistance calls and everything, I have more pulls on the newest SB winch already, that average Jeepers will put on their winch in a lifetime.
That is real world experience with an SB winch, not what I heard from a friend of a friend so I bash a product.